Star 26 light years away could harbour alien life

Sunday 19 February 2006 19.02 EST
First published on Sunday 19 February 2006 19.02 EST

A yellow-orange sun called Chara 26 light years from Earth has been identified by scientists as one of the most likely sources of intelligent alien civilisation in the universe.

After a two year hunt for "habitable zones", or regions in far away solar systems where planets would enjoy the perfect conditions for life, Chara is one of five stars named as promising hotspots for life.

The list was produced by Margaret Turnbull, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institute of Washington, after trawling information on 120,000 stars, and will be used to make the hunt for signs of extraterrestrial life more efficient.